Some may already know a bit about this, but of course I will explain in full!

Writing down weight and individual measurements, and then going back and subtracting to find the progress week after week is frustrating and annoying. Whether you are taking the measurements on your own or not, it's important to have organized records that document this information during a weight loss journey. I am a perfectionist when it comes to keeping track of measurements. When I write down the information, it has to be written neatly and each column has to be the same width apart. By the time I've just recorded five measurements, I have about twelve sheets of paper wasted because of re-dos. HOPEFULLY this spreadsheet is as useful to you all as it is to me.

This post is going to be long. The reason for this is that I wanted to address every aspect so that each person (whether they know how to use Excel or not) will be able to make use of this little Diary.

This spreadsheet will be able to hold information for up to 51 weeks (it may be 52; however, I can't remember if I included the starting week in my original count or not). Each week contains three tables. The table furthest to the left is for measurements. This is the only table in each week that actually needs to be edited. The table in the middle shows change in measurements based on what you measured the previous week. Calculations are done automatically. The table furthest to the right reflects on how much weight you have lost since the beginning of your diary, as well as difference in body measurement since the beginning.

The file you will download is called an Excel Workbook, and within it are three spreadsheets. The first two sheets are diary sheets; however you will only need to work with one or the other. If you take your measurements in metric units (kg, cm), you will use the spreadsheet labeled appropriately. If you take your measurements in imperial units (lb, in), you will use that spreadsheet. To choose the appropriate sheet, look at the bottom left where there are tabs. It is important that you are working in the right spreadsheet because of formulas entered into certain boxes that allow for conversions to show.

The third sheet just has a chart for determining pant size and one for shirt size. I did not make this; it's one I found from the internet. I checked between multiple clothing stores and their criteria are pretty similar, so it's great for an estimate.

CUSTOMIZING AREAS OF MEASUREMENT

Before you even start this diary, you need to choose which areas of your body you will keep track of. You also want to make note of where on the body you are taking the measurement so that even if it isn't technically the "right" location, you are always consistent. For instance, I take my forearm measurement 6cm below my inner elbow. I have a large list of body areas already pre-entered into the spreadsheet. You don't have to take all of those measurements, however more measurements truly shows how much progress you have made and may keep you motivated even if you don't drop a large number of pounds on the scale.

Now because of the setup of this entire spreadsheet, it is important not to remove any of the rows in a table. This will likely mess up a formula entered somewhere in the spreadsheet and I likely won't be able to fix it for you. If you want to do all the measurements I have listed: GREAT! You don't need to worry about this and can move on. However, if you want to change the order of the body areas or make your own list of areas you want to track, this is for you.

First, open up a notepad text file. Make a list of the body areas you want to keep track of (up to 13). I like to order mine according to order of the body areas from top to bottom. You are also going to need to figure out where you are taking the measurements from and make a note of it so you can remain consistent throughout the weeks. Now you need to prepare your tables. To do this, first you delete the contents of the very first table's first two columns (aside from the weight row). To do this, take your cursor and click the middle of the first rectangle. Don't lift your finger up, and drag it across until all sections are highlighted.

Next you press the delete key on your keyboard. Then you can go through and input your body areas for measurement in the first column. In the second column, go ahead and type in where you are going to take your measurements from. Now you need to copy and paste this information to the next week's table. You can choose to do this for all 51 weeks at once, or to do it week by week. I adjust everything at once so I don't have to worry about it later. To copy and paste the information, highlight the same boxes we did earlier and hold CTRL and C at the same time, or right click and "copy" to copy the information. Once done, the table should be highlighted as earlier, but this time with little dashes moving around it. Go to the next week's table; click the first box on the left, right underneath the "weight" rectangle. Right click and choose "paste" or hold CTRL and V (you can even hit enter if you will only be pasting it once). You need to do the same thing with only the first column so that the names in the second table match up and so you can see the measurement changes as they happen.

STARTING YOUR DIARY

The very top of the spreadsheet is just one table. This is where you enter your previous or current measurements. I suggest making it your current measurements, this way you are able to choose the body areas you want measured. When it comes to entering your measurements, choose the square you want to edit in either the metric or the imperial column. If you are measuring in metric units, you need to input your measurements in the metric column. REMEMBER: if you are not in the right sheet you will not be able to see both units of measurement because it will break the conversion code. Your table will also look really weird.

To type your measurement, select the appropriate square and type the number, then press the enter button.

The only table you input measurements to is the first table. The other two are for calculations and that work is done automatically.

So now just go through your measurements and put them in. If you didn't use all 13 rows available for custom body area measurements, that's fine. Input 0 as the measurement and it will show up as a dash on any area that section would otherwise be used for.

Now you should be able to happily store your progress and see the changes, however small, week by week!

If I didn't make something clear or you have questions, feel free to ask. Depending on how many people may need help with any of the steps, I might be able to customize the spreadsheet depending on what that person wants in it. We'll see as the time comes for that!

Here is the download link. I uploaded on Mediafire because Google Docs does not support conversion formulas, but I tried to make it a direct download link. If the direct download does not work, you will just have to go to the page and click download.

And I am doing so much better than I was on Monday. I still have a really bad cough, but I'm taking it easy and my antibiotics are working well. I can hopefully get back OP in about two weeks, and hopefully I don't gain any inches or pounds before I restart. Thanks for caring<3

And I am doing so much better than I was on Monday. I still have a really bad cough, but I'm taking it easy and my antibiotics are working well. I can hopefully get back OP in about two weeks, and hopefully I don't gain any inches or pounds before I restart. Thanks for caring<3

I've already confessed my ineptitude once today. Something I didn't think I had until I tried to search the threads. But I honestly cannot find the newly-posted charts. Did you sneakily hide it somewhere or am I just losing it? Oh, I forgot. I'm on pain killers so I have an excuse.